People who inspire for all kinds of reasons, small or big.
There are folks in my life who have inspired me to be better. They’re my mentors. My teachers. My heroes. They’ve shared their knowledge with me, patiently and gracefully. Some are older. Some are younger. Age doesn’t seem to matter. All are wise and doing what they love. Once in a while, I’ll be chatting with them about what makes them tick and sharing their stories with you. I hope you’ll feel energized by their insights. And, one day, perhaps you’ll be my next featured wanderer. wonderer. creator.
March Artist Feature: Elise Musumeci
Ciao! Meet my friend Elise Musumeci. She is a winegrower, photographer, web developer & business brand consultant.
We met years ago while working together at a small boutique in Three Oaks, Michigan. At the shop, I admired her sense of style and creativity and knew we would be lifelong friends. In fact, we’re still working together, but in a different capacity. As a brand consultant, Elise has helped me develop my AndreoniArt brand. And as a photographer, she has photographed my paintings and me at my Michigan studio. She loves being behind her real camera capturing simple moments in an impactful way, but reminds herself to leave her camera alone so she can instead enjoy life without a lens, doing what she truly loves--making wine. Everyday she feels blessed to be able to farm wine grapes alongside her husband, Domenico, and their Suffolk Punch draft horse, Buster, on their beautiful farm in West Michigan.
(Diane) Hi lovely Elise! Will you share your vision of what your goals are for the farm and the type of farming you and Domenico (and your horse, Buster) do together?
(Elise) Wow! This is a complex question, but I shall do my best :) The management of our farm is best described as 'farming with nature'. In general, we try to marry our farming aspirations with what Mother Nature does best. Mostly this means being observant & staying out of the way as much as possible!
More specifically, our farming principles include the use of Buster, our draft horse, as well as other animal & human powered solutions. We encourage biodiversity as much as possible on our farm, whether that be introduced or obtained naturally. Lastly, our spray program utilizes native microbiology, which is a living input that plants love! This differs from most other vineyards which use deadly synthetic chemical sprays.
(Diane) How about giving us a peek inside your day on the farm? I know you like to create daily lists (lol, inside joke). What would today’s list look like?
(Elise) I love lists, in fact I'll make one for you now!
- No matter what season it is, the daily routine starts with a cup of coffee, morning chores [cats, chickens, draft horse] and consulting work.
- Although it's wintertime now, everyday on the farm our activities are dictated by the weather. Winter provides a convenient excuse to stay inside a little longer if necessary! All seasons can be a pleasure to work in, even when it's cold and snowy- which offers a tranquil ambiance to work in. We are currently building brush fence around one of our vineyards to redirect deer traffic away from the vineyard. This consists of utilizing any cut or fallen materials (logs, limbs, etc.) and weaving them into a solid fence line using established trees as the posts to contain the brush. It's really fun to build this style of fence! As well as being effective, it is also an opportunity to get creative.
- Pruning apple trees has already begun and grapevine pruning is just around the corner!
- I have already started seeds for our farm garden! I have a variety of herbs currently growing, spicy peppers, cabbage, radicchio, lettuce, leeks, bunching onions & soon flowers will get their chance. I love starting seeds and watching them grow into beautiful and bountiful plants!
(Diane) As I got to know you, I learned about your’s and Domenico’s dream of owning a sustainable wine farm. What made you both want to farm this way?
(Elise) Domenico & I previously worked for other farms [including vineyards] and wineries. We learned a lot through these experiences, but never found a system of farming that matched our vision of sustainability. An example of this would be our introduction to farming with tractors. Although heavy machinery is one way of getting a job done, we discovered first hand that it is by no means a perfect technology. This experience encouraged us to explore other options, which led us to the original horsepower! We also learned to farm with oxen, but found that horses proved to be a better fit for our personalities & farming goals.
(Diane) How did you stay focused on making your dream come true?
(Elise) Staying focused is very important! There are a lot of distractions and, to be honest, set backs. With every twist, turn or bump, we try to remain present in everything we do. It is helpful to remind ourselves to work hard, stay humble and be thankful for all of the blessings we have in our life. Domenico and I are fortunate that our relationship is based on love, support and respect for each other, which certainly helps when times are good or not so good.
(Diane) Wandering around your farm, I’m sure you’re always observing the landscape and seeing cool images to make into photographs. What types of photographs are your favorite to take?
(Elise) I love photographing just about anything happening on the farm, as I find a lot of inspiration in nature. By the end of a year, I have photographs from each month that form a photographic diary from the year where I can see what happened each month, what the weather was like, what we were working on, what was going on in the farm garden, what the animals were up to, or how much progress we made. On the flip side, there are some days where things look too beautiful for me to even try to capture a picture and in those cases, I simply enjoy the view & try to commit the image to memory. Sometimes it is better to be present and enjoy than try to capture a moment with my camera.
(Diane) Owning a small business takes a lot of creativity and commitment. Do you ever wonder about your choices? Would you have done anything different? If so, do you mind sharing your thoughts with us?
(Elise) Despite the challenges, hard times and tears that have occurred or are still yet to come, I truly would not want to be doing anything else, anywhere else, with anybody else than what we are doing right now.
(Diane) What types of wines are you producing and are they for sale yet? If someone wanted to learn more about your vineyard how can they find additional information?
(Elise) We make living wines! Our fermentations are powered by native yeasts, and we add nothing nor remove anything during the winemaking process.
At the moment we have two wine labels. The first label, called CA' MUSU, focuses on dry, sparkling wines made from fruit grown on our farm. WINE PIRATI, our second label, produces a variety of wine styles from fruit sourced from off our farm.
Our estate grown grape vines are still maturing and it will be a couple of years before we can enjoy our first harvest; for the last three years we have been purchasing locally grown grapes and making wine under a home winemaker license (this limits us to an annual production of 200 gallons).
We are currently in the process of obtaining our Small Winemaker License, which will allow us to make over 200 gallons. Fingers crossed we get approval and can move ahead! This would allow us to sell wine to the public as soon as fall of 2023.
Anybody interested in our project is welcome to visit our websites, instagram, or reach out to us directly:
CA' MUSU
WINE PIRATI
(Diane) Thank you Elise for sharing your life with us. Seeing you living your dream is inspiring. Cheers to you, Domenico and Buster for many more successful years of producing organic wines. My glass is waiting to be filled!